Alex Karras

Although I grew up in the 1970s when Alex Karras was retiring from football and then continuing with a busy broadcasting and acting career, I want to pay homage here to his great college football career which seems to be treated as an afterthought by most obituaries.  The best way to honor Karras, who died earlier this week at 77, is to reprint the mini biography Bob Boyles wrote in our book The USA Today College Football Encyclopedia.
+++The first time Alex Karras spoke in front of a network television camera in 1957 he was a mumbling, nervous recipient of the Outland Trophy as the nation's top lineman.  Jack Lescoulie of NBC's Today Show prompted the young tackle to say "some very corny things"--as Karras described in his biography, Even Big Guys Cry--such as "Without the big guys up front the little guys can't do it..."
It was hardly Karras' last appearance before a TV camera.  After an All-Pro career as a cat-quick defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions, Karras replaced Emmy Award winner Don Meredith on the ABC Monday Night Football telecasts with Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell.  Although the beloved Meredith proved a tough act to follow, Karras injected his own colorful persona into the threesome in the broadcast booth.  Karras added a sense of the bizarre; what was probably his best line captioned a sideline close-up of the steaming, shaved head of a big Oakland Raider: "That's Otis Sistrunk, Raiders defensive tackle...out of the University of Mars."
Karras' broadcast performances triggered several movie opportunities and he appeared in tremendously diverse roles in such films as "Paper Lion," "Blazing Saddles," and "Victor Victoria."  Karras played himself in "Paper Lion" and the trail hand Mongo in Mel Brooks' novel comedy, "Blazing Saddles," in which he stole the show in a legendary, hysterical gas-passing campfire scene.  His character opened "Victor Victor" as a macho bodyguard and ended it sleeping with a gay cabaret performer played by Robert Preston.  Karras also starred as the adoptive father of little Emmanuel Lewis in the TV series "Webster."  His actress wife Susan Clark became his co-star on several occasions, including the couple's wonderful portrayals of sports great Babe Didrickson Zaharias and her wrestler husband George.
Immaterial to his acting career was his one-year suspension in 1963 for betting on NFL games.  Not that gambling was Karras' first bit of misbehavior.  He admitted that he goofed around so much and grew overweight during his early years at Iowa that he got under the skin of coach Forest Evashevski so badly that they barked at each other constantly and even got into a knockdown-dragout wrestling match in the coach's office.  A let-down Evashevski had talked up Karras to the press prior to his tackle's sophomore year (1955), then in a tiff chose not to play Karras sufficiently so as to prevent him from even winning a letter despite his obvious talent.
Karras eventually came around and was voted All America for two straight seasons (1956-57) and won his Outland Trophy after his senior year.  Also, Karras was tapped second in the Heisman Trophy balloting that year of 1957.  No interior lineman has ever polled better, and since award recipient John David Crow of Texas A&M had an injury-slowed season, one wonders what might have been if voters had displayed even partially open minds about the importance of two-way tackles.
During all his glorious play, Karras, angry at what he considered poor treatment by Evashevski, asked for and received a policy of no interaction with the coaches.  He prospered, but it also distanced him considerably from a from an excellent group of teammates.  Strange as it may seem--while the football Writers Association pegged Karras as the top lineman in the country--his greatness failed to earn even the team's MVP vote in 1957.  Right guard Bob Commings, a popular team leader but one of the smallest linemen in the Big Ten, was the choice of Iowa players as the Chicago Tribune award winner for Hawkeyes MVP.  This occurred even though Commings had a rough time in the year's most important game in November.  Ohio State ran effectively against the Hawkeyes even without its injured, all-conference halfback Don Clark.  At halftime, a somewhat-frantic Evashevski felt compelled to move his tackles, Karras and Dick Klein, inside to the guard positions to better protect against the power runs up the middle of Buckeyes sophomore fullback Bob White.  Ohio State knocked the Hawkeyes out of conference title contention with a clutch drive by sending White smashing off tackle and through the weak right side of Iowa's line and steering clear of Karras at left defensive guard.
Karras and fellow defensive tackle Roger Brown of the Lions played so well in one game that it prompted no less an NFL idol than Vince Lombardi to force a change in NFL scheduling procedure.  Since 1951, the Green Bay Packers, for whom Lonbardi coached with great success from 1959-67, had served as the yearly Thanksgiving Day opponent for the traditional game in Detroit.  Karras and Brown so dismantled the Packers' offensive line in a 26-14 Turkey Day upset win over previously-undefeated Green Bay in 1962 that Lombardi convinved the league that it was unfair to have his Packers facing the fired-up Lions every Thanksgiving.  Within two years, a rotating schedule served up different opponents on the Lions' holiday table.  Although Karras and Brown made life miserable for star Packer guards Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston that Thanksgiving, Green Bay finished the season with a 13-1 record and beat the New York Giants for their second straight NFL championship.
The miserable way things have developed since that time 50 years ago, Detroit fans surely wish they still had the colorful Alex Karras playing in the middle of the Lions defensive line.+++

TCU Blues

It is hard to feel bad for a 4-1 club but TCU is in a tough spot during what has been a brutal calendar year.  It was supposed to be a glorious year for the Horned Frogs as they returned to the big boy conferences with their inclusion into the Big 12 after a string of dominant seasons while bouncing around in search of a home that would allow them better access to the BCS.  But perhaps that single-minded pursuit of acceptance by the powers that be cost them in the karma department as they have left behind a string of spurned partners (seemingly all of the non BCS teams west of the Mississippi) and suitors (the Big East).  And while none of those teams wants to see anyone hurt or unable to handle personal demons, they must be smiling about the struggles of TCU.
TCU's travail's began in February when four football players, including former All American LB Tanner Brock, were among 17 TCU students arrested in a drug selling sting.  Brock's roommate QB Casey Pachall admitted to police officers that he had just failed a drug test for marijuana use and that he had tried cocaine and other drugs.  He was not arrested and remained active on the team, somewhat controversially, although the four players who were arrested were thrown off a squad that had already lost key players to graduation.  Then in May senior RB Ed Wesley, who rushed for 2,442y and 21 TDs in his career, declared for the NFL supplemental draft.  In August three starters or co-starters were lost to injury and then in September the leading returning RB, Waymon James, was knocked out for the season with a knee injury.  Now with Pachall in rehab and done for the season the Horned Frogs will be fighting just to stay afloat.  The development of RS FR QB Travone Boykin will be crucial as the Horned Frogs tackle a brutal second half schedule.  Their next two opponents, Baylor and Texas Tech, are as good as the better teams TCU has played in the recent past.  After those two, TCU plays at Oklahoma State, at West Virginia, home against Kansas State, at Texas and then home against Oklahoma.  Good luck to the team and to Pachall as he works at turning his life around.

Pac -12 Report

The Pac-12 North race may have gotten a bit easier for expected (doesn't it seem like ESPN has crowned them already?) champion Oregon as Sean Mannion, the starting QB for undefeated rival Oregon State, is heading for surgery on his left knee for what appears to be "just" a torn meniscus or even a slightly damaged one.  Basically, once they open up the knee of the QB currently sixth in the nation in passing yards per game at 339.5 they will find out if he needs to miss 2-3 weeks or 2-3 months.  So he'll miss this week's game at BYU, who themselves lost QB Taysom Hill for this season on Saturday and returned former starter Riley Nelson to lead job.  That game should prove to be a defensive struggle.  Then OSU hosts Utah, a team that has yet to adequately replace their injured starting QB Jordan Wynn.  The Beavers can win both of those games with a decent performance from new starter Cody Vaz, who has not thrown a pass in a real game since 2010.  But Vaz will have to play at  higher level, or Mannion will have to return at or close to 100%, if the Beavers expect to hold up against a second half schedule featuring road trips to Washington and Stanford and the November 24 showdown with the Ducks.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  The inexperienced Vaz will need to play well this Saturday in Provo against one of the better defenses in the country if the Beavers wanrt to remain in the nation's top ten.  Let's see how he handles the new job.

What We Learned Yesterday

Once again--and it has been going on for years now--the Florida State Seminoles were over-rated.  What a surprise.  Like the Dallas Cowboys, who get picked to win the NFC East every year, the experts see a lot of talent and a weak ACC and proclaim the Noles as contenders for a national title and, like the current lot of cowboys, FSU disappoints.  Please let them sniff a conference title one year before showering them with praise the next.
The SEC is still getting too much respect.  There has been more buzz about the conference being weaker this season--and it is--but we still see three conference teams in the AP top four and LSU at number nine.  Florida is not yet the fourth-best team in the country and LSU has had one good effort on the season and that was a home blowout of a team (Washington) that has lost six of its last seven road games.  The conference has plenty of chances to get more press so we will see how this all shakes out.
It must be tough being the PR folks for the Big East conference.  With three programs undefeated and ranked in the top 25 you would think the job would be easy.  But no, there is absolutely no love for the conference.  Fortunately for the BE, those three teams are all expected (hey you never know) back next year and all will be heavy favorites for the next two weeks.
The Big Ten, meanwhile, is having its worst fears realized as Ohio State and Penn State are red hot and ineligible for the conference championship game.  Fortunately, having both of those programs look strong for the future is a great thing.  What happened to all those folks who had PSU down for years?
At least Louisiana Tech is finally ranked.  They have Texas A&M this Saturday night so let's see if they are still ranked come Sunday.

Great Day

I really enjoyed yet another trip to Michie Stadium this afternoon.  The weather threatened but never broke and the game between Boston College and Army was a thrilling one, even if neither team is going anywhere this post-season.
You have to hand it to the Army team and its supporters.  Sitting at 0-4, including losses at home to Northern Illinois and Stony Brook, the Cadets could have easily mailed in this game.  But with support from a lively crowd the Black Knights played hard and notched win number one on the season in exciting fashion.  After the game seesawed through 3.5 quarters, Boston College took a 31-27 lead on a 24y TD run on a reverse by WR Alex Amidon.  Army, who rushed for a whopping 516y against the beleaguered Eagles, then marched downfield 74y to the BC 1YL where RB Raymond Maples (34/184y) was stopped on 4th-and-goal with 2:09 remaining. But BC then showed why it is such a mediocre program these days by running three times without gaining a first down and then punting for only 34y.  So Army had plenty of time and the ball at the BC 38.  The Black Knights needed only three plays to score winning TD on QB Trent Steelman's 29y gouging run up Eagles gut.  Steelman rushed for 141y and 3 TDs.  The visitors then botched the ensuing KO to begin final possession at own 3 before being unable to move ball to Army side of the field.  Game over.

Picks, Picks and More Picks

Why elaborate when I am under .500.
So, here goes:
BC -10 at Army
Clemson -10 hosting Ga Tech
RU -8 against Conn
KSU -24 against KU
Purdue +3 at home versus Mich
Florida +3 hosting LSU
I am heading up to West Point for the game, number five for me this year. Walking those hallowed grounds in nice fall weather is a great joy.

Saban on No Huddle

I'll make it easy for you.  He does not care for it one bit.  And what Nick does not like he will tell you about.  The problem, of course, is that coaches are going to offenses like these to allow them entry into a level once reserved for power programs--think Baylor and before that Houston under Art Briles--and to, well, sell tickets.  Oregon was once a solid Pac 10 program.  Now?  One of the best and most popular football schools in the country.
My problem with what Saban said--besides the fact that I find most of what he says self serving--is that he brings up two reasons for why we should alter rules to discourage the use of the no huddle.  For one, he finds it dangerous for defensive players who, once they are winded and stuck on the field, are more prone to injury.  That is true but is player safety being considered when Alabama scheduled Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic and Western Carolina this year?  The other reality about player safety is that no huddles breed small, fast offensive players who must be in expert physical conditioning.  To stop that defenses must become smaller, quicker and better conditioned.  Overall, the game will become safer with players who look more like real people then the huge players of today who must be substituted for or they'll pass out.  Yes the game will look different, but do we really need guys weighing 350 lbs?  I know Nick likes them and does not want to adjust his game to defensive tackles who can see their feet when they look down.
The other part of his argument was over whether we, as football fans, want the game to look like the one played between Baylor and West Virginia. And I agree with him that those shoot-outs do the sport a disservice.  But, on the other hand, the two games played between Alabama and LSU last year were not much better and actually hurt the sport more in that they were watched by more people and the casual fan left those contests without an appreciation for college football.
One of the many things I love about college football is the great variety.  So keep quiet Nick and focus on a relaxing off week.